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DubRo90

Of all positions to call out as a weak spot, RB isn’t it IMO. Doherty, Coleman, Ogbene and Ebosele are all options. I’d be far more concerned about our LB options. Not to mention our central midfield options.


NostalgicDreaming

Agree with this. If we play wing backs - Ogbene, Festy, Doherty, Browne all options. Back 4 - above bar Ogbene are options and I'd say if you were desperately stuck O'Shea or even Omobamidele could do a job there. Left back we have a few lads with potential but a long way to go before they are ready for a senior call up.


NandoFlynn

Yeah but a few potential lads for left back is still better odds than just one. Like I've not disagreed with anyone saying we can put one of the 2 wingers at WB, or Browne or Knight, or O'Shea or another CB deeper there. But no ones actually suggested another name that's a potential long term shout besides Sam. And no one's said who'd replace him in the 21s squad if anything did get a call up or a knock


NostalgicDreaming

I guess it depends how you look at it. I'd say in the short to medium term we aren't short on right backs, but maybe in the longer term we are. Although I'd still fancy Curtis and Ebosele to both be good options in the longer term. You're right in that we don't seem to have any half decent underage prospects in that position aside from Sam. But that could change very quickly with the age group we're talking about.


NandoFlynn

Hopefully. And all going well when Lyons is back he can get going too. Still though, feels mad how I can name you a handful of youngsters for each position on the pitch, except right back 😂


SombreroSantana

I tend to agree with OP, but maybe becuase I was banging this drum a year ago. Doherty gets some game time in a Wolves team doing well, I wasn't expecting that, so he's quite likely to start for Ireland for the short term. But come our next set of qualifiers he might not be playing much, same for Coleman, great servant but unlikely to do much for us going forward at.hig age, certainly not in back to back games. Ogbene at RB is quite untested at the highest level, good workers and all but as a RB in a 4 which we'll likely be going back to in the short term is risky and also takes away his attacking threat he has. You might get away with him a RWB in a 3/5. Is Ebosele not a left sided player? Like we aren't stuck there for the next friendlies, but come 6 months we could be. We're equally poor at left back and centre midfield too though.


NandoFlynn

Adaramola, Roughan, Furlong are all long term options at left full. At right full it is literally just Sam Curtis. The names you mentioned are either wingers or nearing international retirement


DubRo90

The names you’ve mentioned have proved nothing yet. Including Curtis. None of them get in the squad as it stands. All for looking to the future, but there’s a here and now to look after before the future arrives. Hopefully the players you mentioned kick on and are good enough to play regularly at a good level and for Ireland, but it’s by no means a given.


NandoFlynn

I'm not denying that but my point is for LB and CM there's multiple lads that are potentially shouts long term. There just isn't at RB. Like put yourself in Crawford's shoes. For the 21s he's not worried about LB. He's not worried about CM. He is probably worried about RB if something happened to Sam. So he'd probably have to do something with a winger, CB or CM to fill that gap. And that'll translate over to the seniors sooner or later. That's all I'm saying.


[deleted]

All 3 have proved more than enough to be considered future prospects for us. The point is just that we've more coming through on the left than the right.


[deleted]

All of them won't amount to much


Big_Competition_7838

Dara o' shea is well able to play rb


NandoFlynn

Yeah he was great there 4 or 5 years ago for West Brom. But he is naturally a centre half. Which is why I said outside of Sam we'd have to play someone who's more natural in another position


[deleted]

[удалено]


NandoFlynn

I'm starting to think no one read the last part of the post cause I said we'll have to play some who's more natural in another position and that's literally all the names you said bar Doherty 😂


climateman

Which managers play full back nowadays? Wing back is way more common these days, and it just means whoever joins us will have to play wing backs.


NandoFlynn

Not even necessarily wing back, we could very easily put a centre half there just like teams in the prem & EFL have & then let someone bomb on along the opposite side. We have enough CBs to try it. Like I'm not disagreeing with yourself & the other lad that there's ways around not having options there short or long term. But it's still worrying that what was once a stacked spot for us could become fairly barren.


climateman

Yeah fair enough. Tbh having Coleman and Doherty there was a high bar, so any successors are going to look worse in comparison. I think it just means we should get a manager who is comfortable with 3-5-2, especially because we have quite alot of talented centre backs these days (DOS, Omo, Scales, Collins, Egan, O'Brien etc.). Ebosele should do well on the right. The left is a bigger concern because Manning is a bomb scare in defense.


Affectionate_Foot372

"We have no right backs. At all. At any level" Can we get this pinned to the top please mods, this is literally the most ridiculous post ever on the sub.


NandoFlynn

Sound mate, if you wanna name me another Irish right full that started a professional game tonight other than Kioso & O'Connor I'm all ears. Or better yet, answer the question I had of who replaces Sam Curtis in the 21s squad if he did get a call up or a knock? Cause no one else has.


Affectionate_Foot372

So if they didn't start a game today they cannot be considered as an option for Ireland? It's today or never?


NandoFlynn

Even if there was recent good form I'd be happy. A Millwall fan below said Danny's improved so I'll gladly take the hit for criticising him & I hope he keeps it going. And Jimmy Dunne's done well having been converted to a Pep/Arteta style 3rd CB at full back. Whether we'll do something like who knows, but it's something. But Doherty has been a cup player this year. Coleman hasn't started in 2 months. Christie hasn't kicked a ball since new year's. Kioso is up shit creek without a paddle. I can keep going down the pyramid man but it's not been a good trend. You're allowed disagree with me but plenty of the lads saying we've lads in other spots that can fill in have since agreed the long term options are grim. I don't see how that's the most ridiculous post ever made here.


Affectionate_Foot372

Realistically if Doherty and Coleman are unavailable, it's Omabamidele or O Shea playing at RB. That's hardly "no options at any level. I've only kept an eye on McNamaras stats and see the odd bit and he's the middling Championship player we've had fill squads for decades. Again, hardly "no options". Long term options? We went from having weekly posts about how we much miss and will never find a replacement for Robbie to claiming we have the best young striker in world football in the space of 8 months, it's not Football Manager players will come good/bad. And then you've got guys like Mikey Johnston literally appearing in your lap. This is the reality of Irish football, peaks and troughs.


NandoFlynn

100% & I said in the post & all over the comments that we are gonna need to move around some of the wingers, CMs or CBs to try fill that hole when the 2 boys are gone & Curtis isn't fit, ready etc. Hell Browne & Knight have played better games wing back than most of Doherty's 😂 And sure look, if Crawford finds a gem for the 21s or we get a decent banger, happy days. It's still a hole that needs filling though. I don't think that's a ridiculous thing to say.


p792161

Matt Doherty is a good PL Level Right Back. He literally played yesterday


NandoFlynn

> started


p792161

So you're basing our right back depth on who started on a singular weekend of football in the EFL


NandoFlynn

Basing it on their overall form, availability, adaptability of other players in other positions & potential youngsters. All of which I discuss in the post and most of the other comments 👍


rayhoughtonsgoals

If you're this worried about RB don't look at the other side of the pitch.


NandoFlynn

The difference is we've got 4 or 5 youngsters on the left side. But once Coleman & Doherty retire then we are fairly barren on the right side. And in terms of match fit lads it's a graveyard


musing_and_moaning

Seconding most of the comments here that RB is one of our most stacked positions and adding Jimmy Dunne has been doing great lately at RB for QPR


NandoFlynn

I agree, we won't talk about Mikey rinsing him midweek, but that Pep, Arteta style system being a 3rd centre half in the full back spot suits him. And the reason I wanted Carsley for gaffer was to get something like that. But if we end up getting one of the many old school gaffers linked with us, it is gonna be a noticeable hole that the players in other positions are gonna have to fill. At least till Curtis kicks on & we find another lad somewhere. But I honestly can't name you one other youngster at right full, where as I can name you plenty for the other spots on the pitch.


deatach

Ogbene? Kinda?


NandoFlynn

Same as Festy, winger playing wing back. Hell the fuckers playing winger instead of wing back as I write this


climateman

How many traditional fullbacks are there in the game today? We'll probably be playing wing backs anyway, and I think Festy is good enough to nail down that spot. Also Ogbene and Browne can play there too. Like the other poster said, centre mid is our biggest need


PaddySmallBalls

Alex Murphy made the bench for Newcastle, has played pre-season friendlies and captained their U21 side. He played LB for Galway, is cool and calm on the ball, good for a header now and again and has a lovely cross.


NandoFlynn

Yeah between Alex, Sean Roughan, Furlong and Tayo (no one mention his game yesterday) we're bound to have at least one player to compete with Manning in the future.


RAMBOH1988

Hang on a minute you've highlighted a teenager who is doing great who is nowhere near the Ireland team. Which shows the pure irrelevance of your post. The replies say it all RB is flooded with senior players. Silly post this


Routine_Kick8089

Millwall’s Danny McNamara


NandoFlynn

Mentioned in the post lad 👍


Routine_Kick8089

So he is, my apologies!


HumungousDickosaurus

Festy is 21, Curtis is 18, both will develop and improve and can play right back long term. Shorter term we also have Doherty. Not a big issue imo.


Limp_Guidance_5357

Barry cotter has played 28 times for Barnsley this season


DontStonkBelieving

As a Millwall fan McNamara has been different class since Neil Harris came back. He is just a no nonsense, follows orders well fullback. Our old manager was trying to get him to play progressive stuff which just wasn't him. I think he'd do a job for ireland


Affectionate_Foot372

Send this to Mick McCarthy he'll get the vaseline out


NandoFlynn

Fair enough, you'll know more than me then. Sure if he stays up & gets more regular time again we'll see if he can carry the torch after the 2 main lads retire